Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by martyb on Wednesday January 30 2019, @08:33PM   Printer-friendly
from the blame-it-on-the-guy-with-a-blue-ox? dept.

Joshua Tree national park 'may take 300 years to recover' from shutdown

The former superintendent of Joshua Tree national park has said it could take hundreds of years to recover from damage caused by visitors during the longest-ever government shutdown.

"What's happened to our park in the last 34 days is irreparable for the next 200 to 300 years," Curt Sauer said at a rally over the weekend, according to a report from the Desert Sun. Sauer retired in 2010 after running the park for seven years.

The park reopened Monday after the record 35-day shutdown, and park workers returned to a state of chaos, including damaged trees, graffiti and ruined trails. The reduced ranger supervision during the shutdown saw increased vandalism at the park, causing officials to announce on 8 January that Joshua Tree would temporarily close. It was announced a day later that officials were able to use recreation fee revenue to avoid the closure.

"While the vast majority of those who visit Joshua Tree do so in a responsible manner, there have been incidents of new roads being created by motorists and the destruction of Joshua trees in recent days that have precipitated the closure," said park spokesman George Land in the news release.

Joshua Tree National Park.

Related: Cost to Enter National Parks Will More Than Double


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 30 2019, @08:51PM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 30 2019, @08:51PM (#794240)

    Joshua trees inside the national park in southern California

    Sounds like a wall may have helped...

    Stories of destruction that came out of Joshua Tree during the shutdown were devastating.

    “There are about a dozen instances of extensive vehicle traffic off roads and in some cases into wilderness,” David Smith, the current Joshua Tree national park superintendent, told National Parks Traveler after announcing the need to close. “We have two new roads that were created inside the park. We had destruction of government property with the cutting of chains and locks for people to access campgrounds. We’ve never seen this level of out-of-bounds camping. Everyday use area was occupied every evening.”

    “Joshua trees were actually cut down in order to make new roads,” he added.

      So someone drove around in the desert and cut some chains/locks? Who cares? Cutting down some trees sucks though.

    Starting Score:    0  points
    Moderation   -1  
       Troll=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Troll' Modifier   0  

    Total Score:   -1  
  • (Score: 3, Informative) by MostCynical on Wednesday January 30 2019, @09:54PM (4 children)

    by MostCynical (2589) on Wednesday January 30 2019, @09:54PM (#794252) Journal

    "Who cares?"
    Tapayers?

    --
    "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 31 2019, @01:37AM (3 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 31 2019, @01:37AM (#794328)

      Tapayers?

      • (Score: 2) by MostCynical on Thursday January 31 2019, @02:17AM (2 children)

        by MostCynical (2589) on Thursday January 31 2019, @02:17AM (#794343) Journal

        Annoying screen keyboard on very old ipad doesn't always register "c" or "x"

        --
        "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
        • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday January 31 2019, @08:35AM (1 child)

          by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Thursday January 31 2019, @08:35AM (#794454) Journal

          Takspayers. There, fixed that (grin)

          --
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
          • (Score: 3, Funny) by MostCynical on Thursday January 31 2019, @10:10AM

            by MostCynical (2589) on Thursday January 31 2019, @10:10AM (#794469) Journal

            eeedingly unoplimentary words go here

            --
            "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex